Capsule Reviews

The Calling of Jericho JonesSome questions for playwright C. Jean Montgomery and her "Texas tragic-comedy": Why does it take seven years for this Irish family living in Clute to hold a séance (a "calling") that will bring back wastrel eldest son Jericho (Jay Menchaca) to explain his mysterious disappearance? Why hasn't Mother Mac (Rebecca Pipas Seabrook) passed down her thick brogue to the rest of the family? Why did the charming, black-sheep Jericho, who was hardly evil or mean, rape sister-in-law Leslie (Karen Heimbaugh)? Why has it taken neighbor Mattie (Jeanette Sebesta) almost a decade to declare that she "has the power" to summon spirits? Why has Jericho been reincarnated as a rooster, except to make a lame joke about being "cock of the walk"? When murder is revealed, why does the motive make no sense? And why are the play's dramatic monologues intercut with scenes that have no relation to one another? If you can make it past these nagging questions, there are some pleasures to be found in Jericho Jones. Seabrook, Sebesta and Menchaca give their characters abundant life and spontaneity, and Montgomery has inserted some nifty little script reversals along the way to surprise us. And Jericho's monologues, if stitched back together, are powerfully evocative, though ultimately superfluous to the drama at hand. Through October 10. Theatre Suburbia, 1410 West 43rd, 713-682-3525.

The Cat's Meow Even if the cinematic names Marion Davies, Elinor Glyn, Thomas Ince and Louella Parsons are unrecognized by contemporary movie audiences, the uninformed will still be fascinated by the Jazz Age sex and Hollywood scandal in Country Playhouse's production of Steven Peros's The Cat's Meow. In 1924, pioneering Hollywood producer Thomas Ince was invited to a weekend party aboard the yacht of the richest, most powerful man in the world: media mogul William Randolph Hearst. Others on board were Hearst's most public mistress, screen star Marion Davies; her rumored lover on the side, Charlie Chaplin; Ince's mistress, ingenue Margaret Livingstone; toadying Hearst columnist Louella Parsons; and racy novelist Elinor Glyn. A week after the party, Ince would be dead; ever since, tongues have been wagging over how, when and why he died. Playwright Peros has taken the case's basic facts and given them a most plausible and delicious spin. As overbearing Hearst, Carl Masterson delivers a fully rounded powerhouse performance with equal amounts bluster, pride and feet of clay. And although vivacious Marion Davies is treated more like a ditsy gold digger than the superior comedienne she was, Carli Mosier gives her a finely shaded heart of goodness. Houston Hayes's egotistical Chaplin and John Mitsakis's everyman Ince offer remarkably lifelike portrayals; Barbara Lasater, dismissive and needy as Glyn, demonstrates the imperious contempt that the outsider always holds for Hollywood's glamour and prestige; and Johanna Bonno's rotund "Lolly" Parsons is a steamroller of guile and guts. Any Hollywood cat will lap up this sweet bowl of cream. Through October 2. 12802 Queensbury, 713-467-4497.

Footloose It's been 20 years since Kevin Bacon got the girls all gaga in Footloose. But there's good news for anyone with a hankering to get back to the big-haired '80s: The stage version of Footloose is alive and kicking up its shiny high heels at the Great Caruso Dinner Theater, where everything feels like a throwback to an easier time. Footloose is the sweetest sort of '80s confection. In it, Ren, a wild boy from Chicago, meets badass preacher's daughter Ariel, and together they make some trouble before they set a whole town dancing. Woven around this teen-angst fluff are some unforgettable '80s tunes, including "Let's Hear It for the Boy" and "Almost Paradise." If you enjoyed this sort of music two decades ago, the versions coming from director Michael Tapley's young and bouncy cast will get your feet tapping. Among the strongest members is Deanna Julian, who plays Rusty, Ariel's ditsy blond best friend. Julian knows how to squeeze laughs from the lamest jokes, and she makes a terrific partner for Kyle Green, who steals the show every time he ambles out as Willard, Rusty's thick-headed, skinny boyfriend who can't dance. Brooke Wilson is also terrific as Ariel. Though she's not nearly so self-destructive as Lori Singer's Ariel from the film, Wilson is a convincing actress whose beautiful, full-bodied voice turns silly songs like "Almost Paradise" into surprisingly moving pop schmaltz. Taken all together -- the dinner, the wine, the young and happy cast singing unforgettable pop tunes -- Footloose makes for a fun little night, even if Bacon and his tight-fitting jeans are nowhere to be found. Through November 21. 10001 Westheimer, 713-780-4900.

The Rice Lureen Boudreaux (Sara Gaston) eagerly awaits her married lover in room 1760 of the Rice Hotel the week before Christmas, 1957. She is one tough cookie. Besides being a lousy mother, she cusses like a field hand, and she's lost her job at Galveston's swank gambling joint the Turf Club. Yet somehow, Lureen charms with sweet grit and steel-magnolia determination. She's stayed at the Rice several times before with playboy Ike West Jr., heir to an oil fortune. But this time it's going to be different. Ike's leaving his wife, you see, to marry Lureen. She's put her full faith into it -- but something tells us it's not going to happen. This world premiere by Jeff Millar, former Houston Chronicle film critic and now writer of syndicated comic strip Tank McNamara, lovingly evokes the era with details such as a princess phone (in turquoise) and Houston radio station KTRH. It's that damn phone that's the problem. Lureen is constantly center-stage -- and constantly talking on the phone, which only reminds us how much we crave real dialogue. No matter how brilliantly Gaston carries these one-sided conversations (and she's a font of nuance and shifting rhythm), they overburden the play and drag it down. Fortunately, there are some 3-D characters to pep up the narrative: a naively sweet bellboy she befriends (Nick Collins), the officious hotel manager Mr. Peck (Joel Sandel), who's well aware of her prior history of not paying bills, and her old flame Johnny (Jason Douglas), whom she asks up to her room for a last fling before the wedding. But it's Lureen's show from the get-go. Gaston rescues Millar's static play with a performance that has her swigging Pepto from the bottle, lashing out at cowardly, dumb-as-a-post Ike and lounging in a red satin cocktail dress to entice Johnny. She gives an impressive, full-blooded performance. As morally strong Johnny, Douglas does too, in an appealing, understated way. It's the play that needs a transfusion. Through October 10 at Main Street Theater, 2540 Times Boulevard, 713-524-6706.